Flashbacks

Vanity Fair’s Young Hollywood Class of 2003: Where Are They Now?

A.J. Trauth, Emily VanCamp, Brittany Snow, Aaron Meeks

THEN: At the time, Trauth was acting alongside Shia LaBeouf on the Disney Channel’s Even Stevens and playing in a band called Badge. VanCamp and Snow were both starring in soap-y primetime shows: Everwood and American Dreams, respectively. And Meeks was set to star in the Showtime series Soul Food.

A.J. Trauth, Emily VanCamp, Brittany Snow, Aaron Meeks

NOW: Well, you likely know what VanCamp and Snow are up to: the former (erm, the former’s character) terrorizes the Hamptons elite on ABC’s Revenge, while the latter had pop culture’s most famous case of nodes in 2012’s Pitch Perfect. Trauth has guest starred on Numb3rs and Bones, while Meeks has kept a relatively low profile since Soul Food, though he’s quite the prolific tweeter.

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen

THEN: At 17, these two were already running an empire, and their “ongoing projects” were listed in the magazine as “Lifetime Network production deal, Columbia Records albums, Wal-Mart clothing and fragrance line, etc.” Also of note in their spread: Mary-Kate picks Britney over Christina, and Ashley reveals she owns a “lot” of Juicy Couture outfits. Her excuse? “[They’re] from two years ago, when they were hot.”

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen

NOW: Acclaimed designers (their line The Row recently took home a C.F.D.A. award) and legit katrillionaires, the two have mostly hung up their performing gloves. Also, Mary-Kate is engaged to 44-year-old Olivier Sarkozy.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

NOW: Household names all of them, Radcliffe is a regular on Broadway, Watson is a full-fledged movie star (and recently graduated from college), and Grint is the most famous redhead in England who isn’t a royal.

Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padalecki, Kaley Cuoco

THEN: Ventimiglia and Padalecki were playing the two men vying for Rory’s heart on Gilmore Girls. Cuoco was starring in Eight Simple Rules.

Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padalecki, Kaley Cuoco

NOW: Ventimiglia broke out with NBC’s Heroes, and has appeared in an assortment of movies, including Grown Ups 2 and That’s My Boy, since. Padalecki stars on Supernatural, and Cuoco on The Big Bang Theory.

A.J. Trauth, Emily VanCamp, Brittany Snow, Aaron Meeks

THEN: At the time, Trauth was acting alongside Shia LaBeouf on the Disney Channel’s Even Stevens and playing in a band called Badge. VanCamp and Snow were both starring in soap-y primetime shows: Everwood and American Dreams, respectively. And Meeks was set to star in the Showtime series Soul Food.

A.J. Trauth, Emily VanCamp, Brittany Snow, Aaron Meeks

NOW: Well, you likely know what VanCamp and Snow are up to: the former (erm, the former’s character) terrorizes the Hamptons elite on ABC’s Revenge, while the latter had pop culture’s most famous case of nodes in 2012’s Pitch Perfect. Trauth has guest starred on Numb3rs and Bones, while Meeks has kept a relatively low profile since Soul Food, though he’s quite the prolific tweeter.

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen

THEN: At 17, these two were already running an empire, and their “ongoing projects” were listed in the magazine as “Lifetime Network production deal, Columbia Records albums, Wal-Mart clothing and fragrance line, etc.” Also of note in their spread: Mary-Kate picks Britney over Christina, and Ashley reveals she owns a “lot” of Juicy Couture outfits. Her excuse? “[They’re] from two years ago, when they were hot.”

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen

NOW: Acclaimed designers (their line The Row recently took home a C.F.D.A. award) and legit katrillionaires, the two have mostly hung up their performing gloves. Also, Mary-Kate is engaged to 44-year-old Olivier Sarkozy.

Evan Rachel Wood, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan

THEN: Now this is a fun trio. Wood was starring in Once and Again at the time, about to have her “big break” in Thirteen. She was also something of a rebel (Number of Juicy Couture outfits? “Never heard of them.” Britney or Christina? “Alanis.”) Duff was queen of the Disney Channel, known to tweens worldwide as Lizzie McGuire. And Lohan was on the cusp of superstardom, with Freaky Friday set to hit theaters that summer.

Evan Rachel Wood, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan

NOW: Wood has established herself as a highly accomplished actress, though her off-screen exploits (she’s been romantically involved with both Marilyn Manson and Billy Elliot) have threatened to eclipse her credits of late. Duff is about to star in an ABC Family show and is reportedly recording an album, though she is mostly visible to the public via a steady stream of paparazzi pictures of her walking around Los Angeles. Lohan, for her part, has barely made a headline in the past decade; our yoga instructor says she heard Lindsay’s been leading a quiet existence on a ranch in New Mexico. Sounds about right!

Solange Knowles

THEN: At the time, Solange was known mostly for being Beyoncé’s younger sister.

Solange Knowles

NOW: A few months ago, we would said that Solange was still known mostly for being Beyoncé’s sister—although she has released a number of well-received albums in recent years. Now, however, she is probably best known for [attacking Jay Z in an elevator] (http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/solange-knowles-physically-attacked-jay-z-elevator-after-met-gala) after the Met Ball.

Lacey Chabert, Gregory Smith, Christina Milian

THEN: Chabert had been a regular on Party of Five, Smith was the lead on the WB’s Everwood, and Milian an emerging pop/R&B star.

Lacey Chabert, Gregory Smith, Christina Milian

NOW: Chabert is best known for playing Mean Girls’ Gretchen Weiners (and presumably mutters, “Yeah, yeah, my hair is full of secrets” whenever she meets someone new); Smith stars on ABC’s Rookie Blue; and Milian can be seen on The Voice as the show’s “social media correspondent.” (Her 2004 single “Dip It Low” remains a 2000s classic, though.)

Mandy Moore

THEN: Moore broke out with “Candy” in 1999 (it’s impossible to read that previous string of words and not want to immediately hear the song, so we’ll save you some time). She also starred in 2002’s A Walk to Remember, a seriously important film for anyone born in the 80s.

Mandy Moore

NOW: Moore has been linked to a few different pilots in recent years, and is set to appear in the upcoming CBS sitcom Good Session. She’s also married to Ryan Adams, with whom she is reportedly working on a new album.

Raven

THEN: The former Cosby Show actress was set to star in the second season of The Disney Channel’s That’s So Raven.

Raven

NOW: Raven recently fronted the short-lived 2011 ABC Family comedy series, State of Georgia, and presumably fields an overwhelming number of “I thought you could tell the future!” jokes in her daily life.

Shia LaBeouf

THEN: LaBeouf was just an innocent tyke at this point (check out those corduroys!). The star of Even Stevens, he told V.F. his cell phone was a Panasonic, adding, “It has a freakin’ camera on it.”

Shia LaBeouf

NOW: Where to begin? He’s had sex on-screen; he’s been embroiled in a plagiarism scandal; he seems to [own only one pair of pants] (http://www.collegehumor.com/post/6965182/shia-labeouf-only-owns-one-pair-of-pants); he’s acted opposite city-destroying CGI robots. And those don't even rank in the top 10 wildest facts about him.

Alexis Bledel and Amanda Bynes

THEN: These two—both with the same initials!—were starring in two very different shows: Bledel on Gilmore Girls and Bynes on The Amanda Show.

Alexis Bledel and Amanda Bynes

NOW: Bynes recently enrolled in fashion-design school after a stint in rehab. Bledel appeared on Mad Men and is now engaged to Vincent Kartheiser, who plays Pete Campbell. (Don’t trust him if he says he wants an apartment in the city “for business purposes,” Alexis!)

Bow Wow and Aaron Carter

THEN: Carter was perhaps best known at the time for his involvement in a Hillary Duff-Lindsay Lohan love triangle, as well as for being the younger brother of boy-band royalty Nick Carter. Bow Wow was set to release his third album, Unleashed.

Bow Wow and Aaron Carter

NOW: In November 2013, after touring earlier in the year, Carter filed a bankruptcy petition “to shed more than $3.5 million in debt.” Bow Wow was named the new host of BET’s 106 & Park last fall, and is reportedly working on an album.

Kyla Pratt and Alexa Vega

THEN: Pratt was starring on both UPN’s One on One and Disney’s The Proud Family. Alexa Vega had appeared in two Spy Kids films.

Kyla Pratt and Alexa Vega

NOW: Pratt appeared on an episode of The Mentalist in 2012, but has mostly moved on from acting. Vega now goes by Alexa PenaVega, as she and her husband, Carlos Pena, merged last names upon marrying. She appeared in a number of movies last year, including Machete Kills.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

THEN: We are frankly overwhelmed by how adorable these three look 11 years ago. Radcliffe picked Christina over Britney, Watson revealed she owned two Juicy Couture outfits, and Grint said his favorite “guy’s guy” was SpongeBob SquarePants.

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

NOW: Household names all of them, Radcliffe is a regular on Broadway, Watson is a full-fledged movie star (and recently graduated from college), and Grint is the most famous redhead in England who isn’t a royal.

Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padalecki, Kaley Cuoco

THEN: Ventimiglia and Padalecki were playing the two men vying for Rory’s heart on Gilmore Girls. Cuoco was starring in Eight Simple Rules.

Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padalecki, Kaley Cuoco

NOW: Ventimiglia broke out with NBC’s Heroes, and has appeared in an assortment of movies, including Grown Ups 2 and That’s My Boy, since. Padalecki stars on Supernatural, and Cuoco on The Big Bang Theory.

Shaliene Woodley leads a pack of 23 young actors and actresses in this month’s Vanity Fair. It’s exciting to imagine what these “Next Wave” up-and-comers, photographed by Mark Seliger, will accomplish over the next decade. But—as a wise elder might counsel a teenage protagonist at the climax of a summer action flick—when looking forward, one must, at the same time, look back.

What better time, then, to revisit the teenage luminaries selected for V.F.’s July 2003 Young Hollywood issue? A surprisingly large number went on to enjoy success—even greatness—and a select few achieved something even more uncommon: worldwide notoriety!